Things are quieting down now…

With the biggest issue behind us, and a compromise on the Blessing of Same Gender Relationships coming out of the House of Bishops, things are calming down significantly.

We were clearly upheld and buoyed by the power of prayer over the last few days – and it is that prayer which gave us the energy and courage for the task we faced. I can tell it was prayer and not just adrenaline because now that we’ve landed the plane, I feel calm and rested, not drained and wrung out. God gave us the energy to see the hard emotional work through to its conclusion.

The protest on the floor yesterday was painful. There were a number of friends of mine gathered around that microphone while Kendall was reading the statement. We disagree on the question of God’s will for people attracted to the same gender – but we agree on much more. We agree on the need to do mission work, we agree on the need to tell people about Jesus’ love, we agree on the need to show the fruits of the coming Kingdom of God in our communities – and I pray that these agreements will somehow carry us through the issue that divides us at the moment.

I’ve noticed the Church tends to thrive when there is controversy among her children. (I wish it wasn’t that way because frankly I’d rather live prayerfully and peacefully – but my ways are not God’s way apparently.) I guess that happens because when there is controversy it means that people are taking the Church and God very very seriously. God’s words to Job’s friends at the end of the Book of Job have always seemed to tell me that God wants us to be in passionate relationship with the Divine – and what we do or don’t do is less important than the reality of the relationship. When you feel as strongly as so many do here right now, it’s impossible to ignore God’s work in our lives.

I’m still processing the Native American liturgy that we used on Tues. The more I reflect on it, the deeper I’m drawn into it. If you’ve never had a chance to see one or participate in one, get thee to a church.

We’re on the down hill side of the slope as far as work goes today. We’ve got a lot to get done, but the House is falling into a rhythm – and I’m more confident that we’ll get the important work accomplished that must be accomplished.

We have the budget to consider today – and that is going to be hard. There have had to be some pretty significant cuts. I know how hard it is for people to live in times of scarce resources – we’re doing the same thing in the Diocese right now.

I had a chance to talk with George Werner yesterday. I asked him how he was feeling. He said that he felt amazingly calm. He didn’t expect to feel this way – but the sense of prayer in this place is so intense that not matter what is happening around us is not able to displace that sense of balance and being in the presence of the Holy. Many people have said basically the same thing to me. It’s an amazing place to live. (I wonder if we can build booths in this place?)